Did you know when you apply for a loan there are actually 2 approvals that take place? The lender reviews the file based on your credit and income, and also reviews the collateral. The collateral must be sufficient in order for a loan to be approved. When the collateral is a condominium, there is increased...
Author: john (John Rapasky)
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HAPPY VETERANS DAY
We hope everyone is having a great Veterans Day! Thank you to all the men and women who have served in our military to keep us safe and free. Are you a veteran? We support our vets and have many veteran employees. Jim Moore is licensed in Arizona as a Mortgage Loan Originator and an Army...
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12 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
PRESS RELEASE: Counsel Mortgage Group®, LLC, is proud to announce this month marks our 12 year anniversary as both a residential and commercial brokerage. Counsel Mortgage opened its doors during the depths of the mortgage crisis of 2007 in an effort to offer professional services at competitive rates and costs to meet the needs of...
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FULL DOCUMENTATION
Loans today require full documentation. Many times I get asked why certain documents are required. In today’s lending environment, files are scrutinized closely. The following are some items that are being requested, and the rationale for the requests. Unexplained deposits in your bank accounts – lenders will ask for documentation to support deposits in your...
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VARIABLE RATE LOANS AND FED POLICY
Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. Reminder from our last issue: You’ve heard of ZIRP – zero interest rate policy – from 2008-2015. Now get ready for NIRP – negative interest rate policy. Currently about $16 trillion of sovereign bonds (all countries that issue),...
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IS REVERSE MORTGAGE RIGHT FOR YOU?
One way to understand what reverse mortgage is, is to understand forward mortgage. A forward mortgage is the mortgage you know, you borrow money, the loan is secured by your home and you pay it back. For the reverse mortgage, you also borrow money, the loan is secured by your home, but you don’t have...
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MORTGAGE BANKS AND MORTGAGE BROKERS
You have many different choices for where to get a mortgage. There are banks, mortgage banks, and mortgage brokers. Many try to sell you their products, for example, down payment assistance, free appraisals, first-time homebuyer loans, doctor’s loans, public employee (teachers, police officer) loans, etc. hoping you’ll bite on the sales pitch in lieu of...
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IS IT MOVE-IN READY?
In order to get a mortgage, the property condition must be move-in ready; it must be habitable and safe. I often get asked if there is a list of items the house must have in order to meet the habitability standard, but there is not, as it is on a case-by-case basis. Here is a...
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DODD-FRANK ACT
The Dodd-Frank Act includes a provision that a borrower must show an ability-to-repay a mortgage to qualify. It seems silly that a law had to be passed with this provision in it as you would think someone would not make a loan unless they knew it was going to be paid back. Nevertheless, this law...
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WHAT ARE FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC?
You may have heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What are they, and how do they affect mortgages? Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) are Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE). They are quasi-governmental entities that were established to enhance the flow of credit in the housing industry....